Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Against the Day
Book Review: "Call 'Em Communications From Far, Far Away..."
Summary: 5 Stars
If both The Bible and The Koran are suggesting of apocalypse with reference to that loaded phrase, 'against the day' - and great title, Mr Pynchon - then for me the novel itself certainly lives up to the promise.
I believe Thomas Pynchon is The Greatest Living Novelist. Fine. But I can't think of any other writer that stays with me in the way Pynchon does. Whenever I read a novel by Thomas Pynchon I become obsessed with it. If I'm not reading it, I'm thinking about it and when I finish the thing it still stays with me. And 'Against The Day' has absolutely haunted me.
The time span of the novel begins in the late ninetenth century as Europe appears to be hurtling towards an unavoidable destiny. "You have no idea what you're heading into. The world you take to be 'the' world will die, and descend into Hell, and all history after that will belong properly to the history of Hell" where "Flanders will be the mass grave of History".
This is serious stuff but The Great War is both the background idea of the novel and yet not quite of it. It's the daily lives of the characters which are the thing with 'history' felt but maybe not necessarily seen in the background. History waiting to happen. Is the Tunguska Event "the general war which Europe this summer and autumn would stand at the threshold of, collapsed into a single event?"
The plot itself is almost ludicrously simple for such a long novel - anarchist father is murdered at the whim of a magnate of big business and we'll see what happens to the children - but as you might expect there are a multitude of sub-plots including the adventures of The Chums Of Chance, a gang of adolescent boys who fly aboard their airship 'The Inconvenience' righting wrongs.
Or do they?
Most of the 9/11 suggestions in the book centre on The Chums and the ending left me with a feeling of general disquiet. This is obviously a good thing.
As I said the novel takes in the amount of sub-plots you would expect from a Thomas Pynchon novel and yes, there are the songs and yes, the puns continue apace and yes, it is long and no, you can't skim read it...
But why would you want to? When we talk about the pleasures of serious literature what we are talking about beyond the import and the cumulative effect are the incidental pleasures of reading. I can think of no other living writer who provides more of those moments than Pynchon.
Thomas Pynchon takes history and turns it into questions. The Campanile in Venice did mysteriously collapse in 1902; there is still a million dollar reward outstanding for anyone that solves the Reimann Principle; the air-burst of a comet in 1908 was the probable cause of the Tunguska Event...
As I said this is a novel that I couldn't shake off while I was reading it and even now it still continues to work its magic on me. I can't say for certain what it all adds up to but this is a good thing, surely? What I do know is the cliche that Pynchon's characters are mere cyphers for his bigger picture has once again, as in 'Mason & Dixon', been exploded; that the novel is simultaneously a summation of the past and a warning for now ("It's a peculiar game we all play. Against what looms in the twilight of the European future, it doesn't make much sense, this pretending to carry on with the day, you know, just waiting. Everyone waiting."); and that really no one else has ever written like this but the man himself.
Yeah, I thought this was a sublime read. And like I said, a warning for now...
"Illusion. When peace and plenty are once again taken for granted, at your most languorous moment of maximum surrender, the true state of affairs will be borne in upon you. Swiftly and without mercy".
A sublime read. A masterpiece.
Book Review: A Contemporary American Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first Pynchon novel I've read (I know, I know, I do things backwards) and am astonished by the sheer magnitude of the book. The story teems with characters, words, events. Much of the book is unneccasary, in a way, but that's missing the point. The novel lives for its love of invention, of science, of words, of life. Pynchon's esoteric humor reminds me of Saul Bellow at times. In any event, I won't soon forget this book and plan to read the rest of Pynchon's works (over time, of course). I titled this review 'Contemporary' not because of the time of the story - late 1800's, early 1900's - but because of its style.
This novel is a must for anyone interested in brilliant writing, a brilliant mind and a book brimming with possibility. Open the first page and prepare to be amazed, frustrated, taught, bewildered and much more. The best book of 2006/7. Easy.
Book Review: A Fantastic Memory
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a fan of a Pynchon...and I love this book. I imagine for folks who get Pynchon, this book is like a gift.
For those who don't get Pynchon....well, they probably still won't get this one. I don't mean this condescendingly, but rather, it won't change your opinion of him if you threw Gravity's Rainbow or Mason & Dixon out the window in frustration.
Personally, this is a culmination of everything I love about Pynchon's books. Sprawling/varied settings and set pieces. Thousands of characters. A mix of high and low brow. Characters breaking out in song, and of course, ukelele's and colorful outfits.
And while all of Pynchon's books are remarkable, this is the one that still sticks with me after reading it almost four years ago. There is so much packed in this novel and admittedly, much of it probably went right over my head. But I can't help but smile when remembering the Chums of Chance flying around in their dirigible. They provided the soul of the novel as thousands of other memorable events unfolded around and below them.
Sure the book can be difficult and complex. And while it is probably one of the more accessible ones, it's complexity is what makes it more rewarding. Not to mention that the playfulness of Pynchon's prose also carries you through it. So while it is at times difficult, it never takes itself too seriously so neither should you. It's grown up Dr Seuss stuff which is why I dig his work.
The highest compliment I can pay this book though is that the memory of actually reading Against the Day is just as good if not better as the memory I have of the actual story . After all, the book is massive and took a good 5-6 months for me to read. It's a commitment in time and and attention no matter what. So it will be a part of your life. I for one am grateful to have experienced it.
Book Review: A Nobel Prize for Literature Should Go to Pynchon
Summary: 5 Stars
Against the Day is the best book I've read in ten years, and I would advocate, pursuant thereto, Pynchon should be awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature. Others have aptly spoken of its themes of the nature of light, generally, and in mathematics and physics, specifically, through its real and imaginary components, to help us understand where our philosophical theories are heading. Pynchon's descriptions of inventions and things technical of the past are simply great, and he does not just fill his book with obscure facts of history, but his powers of pure prose are still quite extraordinary. Against the Day is not an easy book to read. It took me three or four months of concerted effort to finish. I would highly recommend everyone to read the online wiki along with the book. You will learn so many amazing things if you do. I'm a somewhat slow reader anyway, as I like to savor and turn around what an author is saying, so it took me almost an hour to read every ten pages; then, I would spend another hour just going through the wiki. Others have compared Against the Day to works of many authors. I would just add the magical realism of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Every few pages, Marquez echoes the word "solitude" within the text. Pynchon does something similar but with somewhat more complexity to combinations, permutations, synonyms, and antonyms of the title, "Against the Day."Book Review: An Excluded Middle
Summary: 3 Stars
Pynchon fans will be disappointed. A re-read of previous novels -- except Vineland -- is time better spent.